John Overton PENDLETON

1851-1916

PENDLETON, John Overton, a Representative from West Virginia; born in Wellsburg, Brooke County, Va. (now West Virginia), July 4, 1851; moved with his parents to Wheeling, Va. (now West Virginia), in 1851; attended Aspen Hill Academy, Louisa County, Va., 1865-1869, and Bethany College, West Virginia, 1869-1871; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Wheeling, W.Va., in 1874; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for State senator in 1886; presented credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Fifty-first Congress and served from March 4, 1889, to February 26, 1890, when he was succeeded by George W. Atkinson, who contested the election; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1895); chairman, Committee on Private Land Claims (Fifty-third Congress); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1894; resumed the practice of law in Wheeling, W.Va., and died there December 24, 1916; interment in Greenwood Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present